Travis County
septic services.

Three different authorities issue septic permits within Travis County, and many owners learn the hard way. Austin Water regulates on-site systems throughout the City of Austin’s jurisdiction — including, by explicit rule, every property with water frontage on Lake Austin or its tributaries, no matter how the lot or drainfield is arranged. The Lower Colorado River Authority covers designated lake zones, and several small cities (West Lake Hills and Bee Cave, among them) run their own programs. Everyone else — unincorporated Travis County plus Leander and Manor — goes through Travis County’s development services desk downtown. First step on any Travis County septic project: confirm which of those rulebooks you’re under.

The city rulebook has real teeth. Austin City Code Chapter 15-5 requires nitrogen-reducing treatment for new systems with drainfields within 75 feet of Lake Austin, in the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone, or in the Barton Springs contributing zone where certain soils are present — a response to studies flagging septic as a possible nitrate source for the lake and aquifer. Qualifying units must average at least 20 mg/L of total nitrogen. Maintenance rules scale with the stakes: standard aerobic systems need a service contract for the first two years; nitrogen-reducing and commercial systems keep one in perpetuity; and since late 2019, every maintenance provider working within city jurisdiction must register with Austin Water.

Terrain drives design on both sides of the jurisdictional line. The Balcones Escarpment divides the county; the western hills stack thin soils on fractured limestone above the aquifer, while the east flattens toward Blackland farm country. The result is the most drip-heavy permit mix of any major Texas county: 382 of 655 systems authorized in 2024 — 58 percent — were drip irrigation, precise subsurface dosing suited to slopes, shallow soils, and nitrogen rules alike. County applications reflect the same caution: site plans must map floodplain status, slopes over 15 percent, and every well within 150 feet, including neighbors’; aerobic and drip systems require a recorded affidavit and maintenance contract. 7,812 systems were permitted countywide over the decade, tenth in Texas.

One consumer break worth knowing: Travis County refunds permit fees for qualifying septic repairs in the Gilleland and Walnut Creek watersheds. Details, forms, and the three-authority decision tree live in our Travis County permit guide; aerobic obligations and pumping rates round out the owner’s math.

Travis County office: 700 Lavaca St., Suite 540, Austin — (512) 854-4215, M–Th 9–2. City-jurisdiction systems: Austin Water. Permit walkthrough here.